Reserve David Benoit sparked a decisive run that closed the
first half and Kerry Kittles scored 12 of his 20 points in the
third quarter as the surprising New Jersey Nets surpassed last
season's win total with a 106-94 rout of the Phoenix Suns.

The Nets led 42-41 with 2:56 to go in the second quarter when
Benoit drained a three-pointer to ignite a 15-5 burst. Jayson
Williams followed with two free throws before Danny Manning
countered with a dunk for Phoenix.

Chris Gatling put the Nets on top 49-43 with a dunk and Benoit
followed with a three-point play with 1:43 to go. Kittles
buried a 19-footer and Sam Cassell added a free throw. Manning
sank one from the line, but Gatling capped the spurt with a dunk
with 1.3 seconds left for a 57-46 halftime bulge.

Manning finished with 17 points for Phoenix, which never cut the
lead to single digits in the second half and trailed by as many
as 26 in the fourth quarter. Steve Nash added 14 and Jason Kidd
12 as the Suns completed their seven-game road trip at 5-2 and
enter the All-Star break at 31-15. Phoenix was 17-31 at the
break last season.

New Jersey, which was 13-33 at the break last season, improved
to 27-21, surpassing its 1996-97 win total of 26.

"The whole team played. It was really nice to see guys do the
things that they can do," Nets coach John Calipari said. "You saw a
team game, a disruptive defense. You saw a very active team that
shot the ball very well. When our bench plays the way it did
today, we are very good."

"Twenty-seven wins and we are on our way to 50 -- the franchise
record," said Williams, who had 12 points and 15 rebounds.
"Everyone is getting along, we are playing good. We have a
franchise player (rookie Keith Van Horn). What else can you ask
for?"

The Nets opened the second half with a driving layup by Kittles
and a steal and dunk by Kendall Gill to push the lead to 61-46.
After the teams traded baskets, Kittles buried a 15-footer and
followed with a dunk to push the advantage to 69-50 with 8:47.

New Jersey was 15-of-26 from the field in the third quarter
while the Suns were 7-of-19. The Nets rested their starters
most of the fourth quarter after building a 101-75 lead. The
Suns closed the contest with a 19-5 burst.

Phoenix led 13-6 just over six minutes into the contest but the
Nets closed the quarter with a 19-12 burst to knot the contest.
Rex Chapman, who was just 3-of-13 from the field, had all seven
of his points in the opening quarter. He did have a season-high
eight assists.

Van Horn scored 11 of his 20 points in the opening 12 minutes,
making 5-of-7 shots from the field. Lucious Harris, one of the
Nets' key reserves, set season highs with 15 points and four
steals.

"We knew this was an important game for us," Van Horn said. "It
was important to come into the All-Star break 27-21, not 26-22.
Anytime you play at home you get a little more support behind
you. This whole team knew it was important."

Phoenix made just 4-of-18 three-pointers, was outrebounded 48-43
and committed 19 turnovers.

"They shot the ball well and we didn't," Manning said. "We
turned the ball over and they converted on the break. That's
it."